Impressionable Minds?

by J. B., Brockton, MA



I am not an idiot. My mind contains the amount of common sense necessary to distinguish between fantasy and reality. I can watch an episode of "Beavis and Butt-head" without having the urge to set fire to a small furry, woodland creature. After seeing an action film, I never walk around my neighborhood with a sudden impulse to kill. My mind isn't that impressionable.

There are some people out there who think my mind is equal to that of a three-year-old. They don't think that at age 16, my mind is developed enough to understand that television is not real life. I am supposedly at that impressionable age when I believe everything I see and hear. Well, folks, this just isn't true. I am young, and, to a degree, my mind is impressionable. I am open-minded and willing to listen to new ideas. I suppose you could say that I am "selectively impressionable." That is, my mind is widely open to new opinions, but not open enough to accept all ideas as reality.

There are still some adults who can't comprehend this fact. They want me to act the way they do and the way their parents did. This is why television and movies are a threat. They challenge the traditional way of life, and they shy away from the establishment. Some adults feel they are losing control over kids so they call programs bad or controversial. Well, when a show is dubbed controversial, more people tend to watch it. These people are often teenagers who are watching for entertainment, not a lesson in how to act. The shows and movies won't destroy the children's future, but the people censoring them might.